Kerry, Tyrone, Armagh, Monaghan, Cork, Derry, Dublin and Mayo are the last eight teams standing in the race for the Sam Maguire Cup
Saturday’s program features an appetizing clash (3.45pm) between Kerry, the defending All-Ireland champions, and Tyrone, the 2021 winners. It is followed at 6pm by the Ulster derby between Armagh, who are bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2005, and Monaghan, who was last there in 2018.
Cork are bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2012, and having beaten Mayo and Roscommon in their last two games they will fancy their chances against Ulster champions Derry, who reached last year’s semi-final, in Sunday’s first game at 1.45pm.
The quarter-final weekend closes out with what is expected to be another titanic battle between old rivals Dublin, who are bidding to reach the semi-finals for a 14th successive year, and Mayo, who were last in the semi-finals two years ago .
Dublin are Leinster champions and topped Group 3 after wins over Kildare and Sligo and a draw with Roscommon.
*********************
KERRY v TYRONE
Kerry’s Diarmuid O’Connor in action against Tyrone players, from left, Mark Bradley, Ben McDonnell, Michael McKernan, and Darragh Canavan, during the 2021 All-Ireland SFC semi-final
This will be the ninth Championship meeting between the Kingdom and the Red Hand county, having first clashed in the 1986 All-Ireland final, which Kerry won to complete a three-in-a-row.
Their most recent championship meeting was in the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final when Tyrone won by a point in extra-time before going on to win the All-Ireland final.
Over those eight previous meetings the win count stands at four each.
PATHS TO THE QUARTER-FINALS
KERRY
• Kerry 0-25 Tipperary 0-5 (Munster quarter-final)
• Kerry 5-14 Clare 0-15 (Munster final)
• Mayo 1-19 Kerry 0-17 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Kerry 1-14 Cork 0-15 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Kerry 5-24 Louth 0-11 (All-Ireland Group 1)
top scorers
1. David Clifford……..5-25 (0-10 frees, 2-0 pens, 0-1 marks)
2. Sean O’Shea……..1-25 (0-10 frees, 0-3 ’45s’, 0-1 marks)
3. Tony Brosnan..…..1-9 (0-1 marks)
4. Paudie Clifford……2-5
5. Dara Moynihan…..1-5
6. Tom O’Sullivan……0-8
TYRONE
• Monaghan 2-17 Tyrone 1-18 (Ulster quarter-final)
• Galway 0-16 Tyrone 0-13 (All-Ireland Group 2)
• Tyrone 0-13 Armagh 0-11 (All-Ireland Group 2)
• Tyrone 0-18 Westmeath 0-18 (All-Ireland Group 2)
• Tyrone 1-18 Donegal 0-13 (Preliminary quarter-final)
top scorers
• Darragh Canavan……1-25 (0-12 frees)
• Darren McCurry………0-23 (0-13 frees)
• Mattie Donnelly……….0-8
• Ruairi Canavan……….1-4
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
• 2021: Tyrone 3-14 Kerry 0-22 aet (All-Ireland semi-final)
• 2019: Kerry 1-18 Tyrone 0-18 (All-Ireland semi-final)
• 2015: Kerry 0-18 Tyrone 1-11 (All-Ireland semi-final)
• 2012: Kerry 1-16 Tyrone 1-6 (All-Ireland qualifier)
• 2008: Tyrone 1-15 Kerry 0-14 (All-Ireland final)
Kerry has won four and lost one of their five championship games so far this year. Tyrone have won two, drawn one and lost two of their five games.
It is 4-4 wins from the previous eight Kerry-Tyrone championship meetings.
Kerry is in the quarter-finals for the 21st time, having missed none since the qualifier system was introduced in 2001 (there were no quarter-finals in 2020 and 2021). Their only quarter-final defeats were in 2010 when they lost to Down and in 2012 when they lost to Donegal. They are the only county to have qualified for all the quarter-finals.
Tyrone is in the quarter-finals for the 16th time.
Tyrone beat Kerry by three points in this year’s Allianz League.
Jack O’Connor has previously led Kerry in eight previous quarter-finals, winning six and losing two. The defeats were against Down in 2010 and Donegal in 2012.
Kerry scored five goals against both Clare and Louth in this year’s championship but managed only one in the three games with Tipperary, Cork and Mayo. Tyrone scored only two goals in their five games.
*********************
ARMAGH v MONAGHAN
Conor McManus of Monaghan in action against James Morgan of Armagh during the 2021 Ulster SFC semi-final
They last met in the championship two years ago when a high-scoring Ulster semi-final ended in a win for Monaghan, by 4-17 to 2-21.
PATHS TO THE QUARTER-FINALS
ARMAGH
• Armagh 0-20 Antrim 1-8 (Preliminary round)
• Armagh 1-14 Cavan 0-12 (quarter-finals)
• Armagh 4-10 Down 0-12 (semi-finals)
• Derry 1-15 Armagh 0-18 aet: Derry win 3-1 on penalties (Ulster final)
• Armagh 1-13 Westmeath 1-12 (All-Ireland Group 2)
• Tyrone 0-13 Armagh 0-11 (All-Ireland Group 2)
• Armagh 0-16 Galway 1-12 (All-Ireland Group 2)
top scorers
1. Conor Turbitt………1-21 (0-9 frees, 0-1 marks)
2. Rory Grugan…..…..0-18 (0-10 frees)
3. Rian O’Neill…….….1-11 (0-6 frees, 0-1 ’45’)
4. Andrew Murnin……1-9 (0-1 marks)
5. Shane McPartlan…1-5
monaghan
• Monaghan 2-17 Tyrone 1-18 (Ulster quarter-final)
• Derry 1-21 Monaghan 2-10 (Ulster semi-final)
• Monaghan 0-14 Derry 0-14 (All-Ireland Group 4)
• Monaghan 1-23 Clare 1-18 (All-Ireland Group 4)
• Donegal 0-19 Monaghan 0-17 (All-Ireland Group 4)
• Monaghan 1-11 Kildare 0-13 (Preliminary quarter-final)
top scorers
1. Jack McCarron………0-19 (0-6 frees, 0-1 marks)
2. Conor McManus..….0-15 (0-13 frees)
3. Conor McCarthy.…2-9 (0-1 free)
4. Michael Bannigan…..0-11 (0-4 frees)
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
• 2021: Monaghan 4-17 Armagh 2-21 (Ulster semi-final)
• 2019: Armagh 2-17 Monaghan 1-12 (All-Ireland qualifiers)
• 2014: Monaghan 1-18 Armagh 0-13 (Ulster semi-final replay)
• 2014: Monaghan 0-14 Armagh 0-14 (Ulster semi-final)
• 2010: Monaghan 1-18 Armagh 0-9 (Ulster quarter-final)
Armagh are playing their eighth game of this year’s championship, having won five and lost two of their previous seven.
Monaghan have had six games in this year’s championship, winning three, drawing one and losing one.
Armagh are in the quarter-finals for the 11th time; Monaghan is there for the eighth time.
Armagh beat Monaghan by two points in this year’s Allianz League
*********************
CORK v DERRY
Cork’s Steven Sherlock surrounded by Derry players during the Football League Division 2 match at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in March
They met in the championship for only the second time, having previously clashed in the 1993 All-Ireland final, which Derry won by 1-14 to 2-8 to take the title for the first and – so far – only time. The last competitive clash between the counties was in Division 2 this year when they drew 1-14 each in Round 7. Derry beat Cork by nine points in the 2022 Allianz League.
PATHS TO THE QUARTER-FINALS
CORK
• Clare 0-14 Cork 0-13 (Munster quarter-final)
• Cork 1-19 Louth 1-17 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Kerry 1-14 Cork 0-15 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Cork 1-14 Mayo 1-11 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Cork 1-14 Roscommon 0-16 (Preliminary quarter-final)
top scorers
1. Steven Sherlock…..1-23 (0-11 frees, 1-0 pens, 0-2 ’45’)
2. Brian Hurley…….…..0-16 (0-12 frees, 0-1 marks)
3. Brian O’Driscoll……1-3
4. Chris Og Jones…….0-5
DERRY
• Derry 3-17 Fermanagh 2-8 (Ulster quarter-final)
• Derry 1-21 Monaghan 2-10 (Ulster semi-final)
• Derry 1-15 Armagh 0-18 aet (Derry win 3-1 on penalties) (Ulster final)
• Derry 0-14 Monaghan 0-14 (All-Ireland Group 4)
• Derry 3-14 Donegal 1-15 (All-Ireland Group 4)
• Derry 1-20 Clare 1-13 (All-Ireland Group 4)
top scorers
1. Shane McGuigan……2-42 (0-22 frees, 1-0 pens, 0-1 marks)
2. Paul Cassidy………….1-10
3. Brendan Rogers……..1-6
4. Niall Toner………………0-7 (0-5 frees)
This will be Derry’s seventh game in this year’s championship, having won five and drawn one of the previous six. Their only defeat in last year’s championship was against Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. It left them with a very impressive championship record since the start of last year: Played 11; Won 9, Drew 1, Lost 1.
Cork have won three and lost two of their five championship games this season.
Derry are in the quarter-finals for the fifth time, having previously qualified in 2001 (beat Tyrone), 2004 (beat Westmeath), 2007 (lost to Dublin), 2022 (beat Clare).
Cork are in the All-Ireland quarter-finals for the 15th time.
*********************
DUBLIN v MAYO
Diarmuid O’Connor of Mayo keeps the ball in play against Dublin in the 2021 All-Ireland SFC semi-final
It has been a very busy championship rivalry over the last eleven years, with no fewer than ten games. Dublin won six to Mayo’s two while two were drawn.
PATHS TO THE QUARTER-FINALS
MAYO
• Roscommon 2-8 Mayo 0-10 (Connacht quarter-final)
• Mayo 1-19 Kerry 0-17 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Mayo 0-14 Louth 1-10 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Cork 1-14 Mayo 1-11 (All-Ireland Group 1)
• Mayo 1-10 Galway 0-12 (Preliminary quarter-final)
top scorers
1. Ryan O’Donoghue.…..0-17 (0-11 frees)
2. Aidan O’Shea…………..0-8 (0-4 frees)
3. Tommy Conroy ……….1-3
4. Jordan Flynn………….0-6
DUBLIN
• Dublin 4-30 Laois 2-9 (Leinster quarter-final)
• Dublin 0-14 Kildare 0-12 (Leinster semi-final)
• Dublin 5-21 Louth 0-15 (Leinster final)
• Dublin 1-11 Roscommon 0-14 (All-Ireland Group 3)
• Dublin 0-22 Kildare 0-13 (All-Ireland Group 3)
• Dublin 3-23 Sligo 0-8 (All-Ireland Group 3)
top scorers
1. Con O’Callaghan……2-24 (0-4 frees, 0-3 marks)
2. Colm Basquel………..3-14 (0-1 free)
3. Sean Bugler…………..1-12
4. Paul Mannion…………1-11 (0-2 frees)
5. Cormac Costello……..0-13 (0-6 frees, 0-2 ’45s’)
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
• 2021: Mayo 0-17 Dublin 0-14aet (All-Ireland semi-final)
• 2020: Dublin 2-14 Mayo 0-15 (All-Ireland final)
• 2019: Dublin 3-14 Mayo 1-10 (All-Ireland semi-final)
• 2017: Dublin 1-17 Mayo 1-16 (All-Ireland final)
• 2016: Dublin 1-15 Mayo 1-14 (All-Ireland final) Replay
Dublin have won all six of their championship games so far this year, scoring a total of 13-121 (average 2-21). They conceded two goals in the Leinster quarter-final against Laois but have conceded none in their last five games against Kildare (twice), Louth, Roscommon and Sligo.
Mayo have won three and lost two of their five games, with an average score of 1-12.
Mayo beat Dublin in their last championship clash, running out three-point winners after extra-time in the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final. It was their first championship win over Dublin since the 2012 All-Ireland semi-final. In between, Dublin had won five and drawn two of their seven championship games with Mayo.
Dublin and Mayo meet for the 18th time in the championship, with Dublin having won ten of the previous 17 to Mayo’s three while there were four draws,
Dublin have not lost a quarter-final since going down to Kerry by 17 points in 2009. Since then, they have won 15 quarter-finals (including six in the ‘Super 8s’) beating Tyrone (4), Cork (3), Donegal (2), Monaghan (2), Roscommon (2), Laois (1), Fermanagh (1). Dublin have lost only two championship games since the start of 2015 (v Mayo 2021 All-Ireland semi-final and v Kerry 2022 semi-final).
The last competitive clash between the counties was in the 2022 Allianz League when Mayo won by 2-11 to 0-12 in Croke Park.